Guardian Angel
by Dirty Dingler
Summary: Passing through an unusual town, the Elric brothers and Winry are unexpectedly absorbed into a situation which transcends all reason. Tirelessly working to solve the town's mystery, Edward takes charge to recover, and perhaps gain a better appreciation for, that which was taken from him. Set during the events of FMA:B. Rated 'T' for strong language and mild gore.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N - In case it isn't obvious through the story's progression, the setting of this story is early on during the events of Fullmetal Alchemist, when Winry is travelling with Ed and Al. I had Brotherhood in mind as I was writing this but I believe this story would fit with the original anime as well. Anyway, I hope you will enjoy this story!**

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**Guardian Angel**

**Chapter 1**

"What about this place?" Al asked, coming to stop in front of a shabby-looking inn.

"Well, it'll have to do." Ed frowned with a shrug. "I don't think we'll find anywhere else to sleep in this dump of a town."

"You should be more respectful, brother. These people have obviously seen their share of bad luck." Al said quietly, leading the charge up towards the inn's entrance. The wooden building was clearly in disrepair, that much was readily obvious even in the waning light of late evening. All throughout the walls of the two-story inn were planks loose on their hinges, and there was even a noticeable hole in the roof. But even so, it still seemed to be in operation, as there were bright lights shining out of the windows.

The entire town surrounding this inn was also run-down, for the most part. Many of the houses appeared to be abandoned and the dirt roads were very dimly lit because most of the street lights were out. And the residents were in no better shape, with most of them wearing dirty clothes that hardly covered their bodies. The look of defeat in their eyes was very noticeable.

"Creepy is what this place is." Ed muttered. Across the street, Ed saw a small, black-haired boy, no older than ten years old, who was squatting on the ground of the dirt road and simply looking at Ed. When he saw that Ed was watching him, he quickly looked away and resumed playing in the dirt. And sitting up on a balcony of the inn was an old man with a long, white beard, his chair emitting a high-pitched _squeak_ as he rocked back and forth. "There sure are a lot of strange characters here." Ed added.

"It's only for one night." Al said hastily. "Besides, sleeping under a roof would be much better than sleeping out in the woods, right?"

"Yeah, I suppose." Ed said with a sigh. With that, Al opened the door to the inn and took a step inside, ducking down to avoid hitting his metal head on the frame. Ed hesitated for a moment longer and then turned to the third member of their group and asked, "This alright with you?"

Winry seemed to be shocked by the question but she quickly nodded and said, "Yeah, it's fine."

Ed nodded, then followed his brother into the inn's tavern, which was only occupied by one customer apart from the bartender. By the time Ed had entered the building, Al was already engaged in conversation with the bartender on the other side of the building. "Do you have any rooms open?" Al asked the man.

Despite the man's barren appearance, he actually was quite sociable and easy to approach. He was tall and had thick, unkempt brown hair and a thicker beard, giving him the appearance of a bear. "Aye, that we do." He said in a husky voice.

"We'll take two rooms then, please." Al replied happily.

Al didn't carry any money with him, so Ed walked over to the bar and paid for the rooms. "You tourists or something?" The man said gruffly as he counted up the money.

"Just passing through." Ed replied simply. And it was true, the three of them were on their way to Central.

"Hmph. That's for the best." The man said slowly. "The gods know I would get out of this town if I could."

"Marketing isn't exactly your strong point, is it?" Ed asked sarcastically.

"Heh, I like you, kid." The man said with a grin. "Not like the people I usually serve here."

"Oi!" Said the only other man in the inn, a young man man not much older than Ed, who was sitting a few chairs down on the bar. "Sitting right over here, Dale."

"Yeah, that goes double for you, Victor." The bartender shot back. "You're lucky I still serve you, with that huge tab you owe me."

"Cheers, mate." The man replied, raising his glass above his head before taking another sip.

"Yeah, yeah." The bartender said, shaking his head slowly.

Ed waited for a moment to make sure their conversation was over before asking, "I don't suppose you have any food, do you?"

"Sure." The bartender replied. "Got some meat stew cooking right now."

"We'll take some of that, too." Ed said, pulling out some more money.

"Right." The bartender said. "It's still cooking. Go ahead and get settled, I'll bring it out when it's ready."

Ed nodded, then turned away from the bar. Apart from the bar, there were three circular tables scattered across the floor, each of which was big enough to seat five. But they were all empty, as the only other customer in this place was sitting up on the bar. Ed walked over and sat down at the closest table, with Al and Winry following him and doing the same.

"Well, he seems nice enough." Al said quietly.

"Save that for when you see the rooms he gave us." Ed said grimly. Considering the state this building was in, he didn't have very high hopes for the beds. He had received two pairs of keys from the bartender, for two rooms that were right next to each other up on the second floor. Still, he wasn't exactly in a position to be picky.

"Do you think it's always like this?" Al asked.

"What, empty?" Ed asked, and when Al nodded, continued, "Probably. Who would want to visit a town like this?"

"It's really sad." Al said. "Did you see those people outside? I don't think I've ever seen anyone so defeated."

"Yeah, I saw that, too." Ed nodded.

"I wonder what caused them to be this way." Al said. "This isn't normal."

"These people have seen pain." Ed said grimly. "And a lot of it."

"Isn't there anything we can do?" Winry asked, her voice full of pity.

"We have our own problems." Ed said quietly, giving Al a nice pat on the back. His hollow, metal body reverberated a deep hum through the air. "I'm not sure what we could do, anyway."

Winry was not entirely convinced but she chose not to reply. In the silence that followed, the bartender returned with three bowls of stew and placed them on their table. Despite his inability to eat, Al feigned a heartfelt thanks to the bartender, but he passed his bowl to Ed as soon as the man had turned his back.

The meal didn't look all that appetizing but it actually wasn't bad. The contents of the bowl simply looked like a blob of mud, and the piece of bread that came with it seemed to be going stale. But the stew was rich in flavor and Ed had no problem finishing both his own and his brother's bowl.

Once they had finished eating, the three of them ascended the stairs and made their way to their rooms. Once there, Ed handed Winry one of the keys, and she used it to open the door and reveal the room within.

All things considered, it was not as bad as it could have been, but it was not very pleasant either. The walls showed signs of wear and tear and the floor's planks were squeaky in places. The curtains to the one window in the room were torn and discolored. The sheets on the bed looked equally ragged and Ed could only imagine what the mattress looked like underneath the sheets.

"I think I'm going to need five baths once we get out of here..." Winry moaned.

"Heh." Ed laughed. "Hey, listen, we'll be right next door if you need anything."

"Yeah, sure." Winry said with a nod. "Thanks."

"Well, see you in the morning, then." Ed said.

"Alright, good night, Ed." Winry said with a smile. "You too, Al."

"Good night, Winry." Al said.

Winry shut the door in their faces, leaving Ed and Al to turn to the next door and open their own room. Upon entering it, Ed noticed that Winry had it lucky – their room was even worse than hers. In addition to the damages that hers had, their window was broken and its remnants still laid bare on the floor around the window, meaning walking around barefoot would not be a good idea. Their blankets also had a large, red stain that looked eerily similar to blood.

"Well, isn't this pleasant?" Ed said sarcastically as he closed the door behind them. He went to check out the bed and noticed that it was just the blankets that were stained, not the sheets or the mattress itself. "No way I'm using these blankets. Guess I'm sleeping cold tonight."

"Its not too late to trade rooms with Winry." Al pointed out.

Ed laughed. "No, I can't do that."

Al joined in the laugh and when it died down, said, "Well, you should get some sleep, brother. It has been a long day."

"Yeah, you're right." Ed said with a sigh.

"Is something the matter, brother?" Al asked quietly.

"No, it's nothing." Ed lied. Though he didn't admit it, the eyes of the civilians of this town were getting to him. They were lifeless, like walking corpses. What happened to this place to cause the people to become so void of life?

Ed shook off the thought. As he had said to Winry, there was nothing he could do anyway. "Good night, Al." Ed said quietly as he removed the blankets from the bed and carefully laid down on the mattress.

"Good night, brother." Al replied.

As Ed closed his eyes, he saw those lifeless beings from outside again. Even in his sleep, he couldn't shake them from his mind. He tried to force them from his thoughts but it was useless. It would be another long, sleepless night for him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"Good morning, brother." Al said as soon as he noticed that Ed was awake. "Sleep well?"

Ed groaned as he rose to a sitting position on the side of his bed. No, he hadn't slept very well. His night in the uncomfortable mattress consisted of a lot of tossing and turning, and when he did fall into an awkward slumber, his dreams were filled with strange and grotesque thoughts that would ultimately force him awake.

Ed rubbed his eyes with a yawn. Something as simple as opening them fully was difficult in his sleep-deprived state. "About as well as expected." Ed said with a frown. He got to his feet and looked out the window. The sun was just peaking out over the horizon, meaning it was still early morning.

"We aren't in any rush if you want to rest for a while longer." Al pointed out. "You won't be in any condition to travel if you're too tired to walk."

"No." Ed said hastily, picking up his sluggish pace as if to show that he could handle the rigors of travel. "I'm ready to leave this place. Besides, I doubt it'll be any good. I won't be able to sleep now, either."

"Well, if you're sure." Al said with a frown. He gazed at Ed from the corner of the room with concern, clearly unconvinced.

Ed ignored him. If it was up to him, he would definitely choose to sleep as well, but now wasn't the time nor the place. Once he cleansed himself of the strange aura that this whole town gave off, then he could rest easy.

"Is Winry up?" Ed asked as he picked up the clothes he removed last night and put them back on.

"I don't think so." Al replied, averting his gaze out of respect for his brother's privacy. "She hasn't left her room, at least."

"We better go wake her, then." Ed said, gathering up the last of what he had brought with him. Once he was satisfied that he had grabbed everything, he began walking toward the door, saying in a hushed tone, "I want to get the hell out of this town."

"I'm with you there." Al nodded in agreement, his voice weary with unease. "I think you're right, Ed. There's something strange about this town."

"Why?" Ed asked, stopping to look at his brother. "Did you see something last night?"

"No, its not like that." Al replied, furiously shaking his head. "I just have a bad feeling. It's hard to describe."

"Yeah, I think I'm feeling the same thing." Ed muttered. "Come on, let's go."

Ed led Al out of the room and back into the second floor hallway. They stopped at the next door down and Ed knocked, saying, "Winry? Are you awake?"

They waited patiently but after a full minute, there still wasn't a reply from inside. "Winry?" Ed called again. "I'm coming in, cover up if you need to..."

Ed slowly opened the door, which was already unlocked, half-expecting to see Winry there covering up her exposed body with her limbs and yelling at him for barging into her room while she was changing. He was already prepared to flinch under her wrath when he realized that she wasn't anywhere to be seen. "Winry?" Ed called out again, but it was no surprise that there was no reply. The room was completely void of life. Winry hadn't brought many supplies with her during this trip but they were still scattered across the room. The only thing missing was Winry herself.

"Well, that's strange." Ed muttered to himself, taking a second glance across the room to make sure she was indeed not in there. Once he was sure that she was nowhere to be found, he added, "Why would she leave us without saying anything?"

"Maybe she went to get breakfast?" Al suggested, his voice feigning hope.

"Yeah, maybe." Ed said slowly, but he was not convinced. Winry wouldn't leave for even a few minutes without saying anything.

Ed walked through the hall and descended down the stairs to the empty tavern of the inn. He was hoping that Winry would be there eating breakfast or something, but she wasn't. Only the bartender was in the room, there wasn't any other soul to be found. At a loss as to where else to go, Ed approached the bar and asked the bartender, "Hey, do you remember that girl who was with us last night? Have you seen her today?"

"The blonde girl?" He asked, and when Ed nodded, he said, "No, I can't say that I have."

Ed sighed. Now he was really starting to get worried. "How long have you been up?" He asked.

"Since the break of dawn." He replied.

Ed frowned. "Alright, well, thanks anyway." He said, then turned his back and took a few steps away from the bar, where he stopped to think.

"What do you think, Ed?" Al asked.

"I don't know." Ed said meekly. He wanted to believe that she had just gone for a walk or something, but it just didn't add up. "She left the inn at some point since we last saw her, but it couldn't have been this morning or else the bartender would have seen her. This isn't good, Al."

"Maybe she went for a very early morning walk?" Al suggested.

"Winry wouldn't ever want to wake up so early if she had the choice." Ed said with a chuckle. "Which begs the question, what was it that motivated her to wake up so early? Or, is it more likely that she left not by her own free will?"

"Not a chance." Al replied hotly. "I was awake the whole time. If there was any kind of struggle, I would have heard it."

"She was sleeping, Al." Ed pointed out. "If she was captured, her captors would have silenced her before she even had the chance to wake up. Besides, remember her room? Nothing was out of place. There was no struggle."

Al let out a whimper. "I should have stood guard outside, I could have prevented this..."

"No, it's not your fault, Al." Ed said calmly.

"But who would want to kidnap Winry?" Al asked, his voice on the verge of breaking. If he still had his real body, he would have been close to tears.

Ed, however, somehow remained calm, despite the uncertainty regarding his childhood friend. "I don't know." He said. "We don't even know for sure that she was yet. But captured or not, she couldn't have gotten far and we're not getting anywhere standing here. Let's go check around town."

"Right." Al said with a nod.

Ed rushed out of the inn with a hurried pace, Al right behind him. "Hey, unless you plan on staying another night, I'm going to need those room keys back!" The bartender yelled at them as they rushed out of the inn, but his calling fell upon deaf ears as the Elric brothers didn't even turn back as they rushed out of inn.

Stepping back into the streets, the prospect of finding Winry suddenly became much more daunting for Ed. The town was not very big but even so, Ed had absolutely no idea where to search first. In the end, he decided to simply ask around and hope somebody had seen her. This action proved to be unsuccessful even after asking a dozen people and Ed was growing desperate. Every minute he wasted was one minute closer to losing Winry for good, if she wasn't already lost. Who knew what her captors had in store for her, and Ed preferred not to think about it.

After about half an hour of asking around, Ed was beginning to lose hope and was thinking of trying some different strategy. But when he stumbled upon the local general store, he decided it was worth a try, since general stores usually see more gossip than other parts of a town.

Upon entering the building, Ed found it hard to call it a general store. Its stock was very underwhelming and the building was hardly any bigger than his room back in the inn. Still, he decided to give it a try. "Hello?" He called out when he entered. "Anyone here?"

He didn't need a response to know the answer to that question, for he soon saw an elderly couple standing behind the counter on the opposite side of the building. "Ah, a customer." The man said, his voice frail and shaky. The two of them both had sheer white hair, and the man's was receding somewhat. They were both beaming down at Ed and Al, but there was something innocent about the woman's gaze. Her eyes seemed unfocused, as if she wasn't quite sure what was going on. "How can I help you?" The man added.

"I was hoping I could ask you a question." Ed asked as he walked over to the counter.

"What is it?" The man asked.

"Have you seen our friend?" Ed asked. He desperately wished he had a picture of Winry on him, for continually describing vague characteristics was not very productive. "She's not from around here. She's about my age, has long, blonde hair and bright, blue eyes..."

"Ah, you must be talking about Anna." The woman said in such a high-pitched voice that it was almost painful to listen to. "Yes, what a pretty girl she is. I'm sorry to say I haven't seen her, dear, but if you wait for a bit, she'll be over soon for afternoon tea."

Ed stared at the woman, perplexed and unsure of how to respond. He hadn't ever heard of a girl named Anna before. Luckily, though, he wouldn't have to respond, for the man quickly turned to his wife and said, "Honey, why don't you go get that tea started? I'll take things from here."

"Of course, darling." The woman said, then she hobbled off through a door behind the counter and disappeared into the back of the building, presumably where the two of them lived.

"You'll have to excuse my wife." The man said once she was gone. "I'm sad to say that old age has not been kind to her memory."

"That's alright." Ed said, still feeling confused about the whole situation. He was still trying, in vain, to comprehend what the woman had said, but he chose instead to just ignore it. "No, Anna isn't the girl we're looking for, but tell your wife thanks for trying."

"Wait." The man said, halting Ed, who was turning to leave, in his tracks. "If your description of your friend is accurate, then there's something I feel obligated to tell you. Something you may not want to hear."

"What is it?" Ed asked quietly, doing his best to conceal his budding enthusiasm. It finally seemed like they were getting somewhere.

"Your friend is missing, is she not?" The man said. "She isn't the first. Over the past month or so, many women who match your friend's description – young, blonde hair – have been kidnapped. I fear your friend may be the latest victim."

"What?" Al asked. "By who?"

"We're not sure but I think it may be a local mercenary group that hangs out just outside of town." The man explained. "Ever since they arrived a few months ago, they've been slowly destroying this town. These streets used to be vibrant and full of life but, as you have no doubt noticed by now, that livelihood is gone. They demand daily payment of gold and supplies under the threat of extermination and they kill anyone who tries to leave the village. We're stuck here in this madness."

"That's awful." Al said, horror struck.

"What? How can you allow this to happen?" Ed said angrily. He wasn't really asking the old man in particular, but rather, the entire town. "Stand up for yourselves, don't you have law enforcement around here?"

"Brother..." Al said soothingly, trying to calm Ed down. But Ed didn't relent, and continued to stare at the man fervently as he waited for an answer.

"What can we do?" The man quietly, a strange smile on his face. "The first thing the mercenaries did was wipe out our military. None of us left are able to fight them. We've tried sending messengers asking for help from the state, but the mercenaries just kill them and send them back to us before the message is delivered. Now, none of us dare leave town."

Ed frowned, realizing that, without any help, there wasn't much these people could do. But now that Winry was involved in all of this, Ed and Al may just be the help that the town needs. Focusing back on the reason he was talking to this man in the first place, Ed asked grimly, "Where can we find these mercenaries? I don't think I've seen any around town."

"They don't hang around town anymore. If not for the disappearances of all these girls and the fact that they still collect money from us, you wouldn't even know they're here. They've got a camp somewhere in the woods to the south of town, I think." The man answered. "But you can't seriously be thinking of going after them, can you? You boys don't need to be added to the list of victims that have been caused by this senseless violence."

"Don't worry, we can take care of ourselves." Ed said confidently, using alchemy to create a blade from his automail arm.

"You're an alchemist." The man said, his eyes full of wonder. It was clear that Alchemy was a rare art in this town.

"That's right." Ed said happily.

"Then you might be just be the liberator this town needs." The man said slowly.

"We'll do whatever we can to help you, sir." Al replied happily.

"Just one last thing." Ed said. "This Anna your wife spoke of, was she kidnapped by the mercenaries as well?"

"No." The man replied. "She was killed. In broad daylight, I might add."

Ed's eyes grew wide with worry. He hadn't ever heard of this Anna before but the fact that the elderly woman mistook his description of Winry for Anna meant that their fates were probably shared. Was this the fate of every girl that was rounded up by these mercenaries? Was Winry already dead?

"What?" Al asked, clearly as shocked as Ed was. He seemed to have come to the same conclusion that Ed had.

"Anna was the first girl that was targeted by the mercenaries, and she was killed by them on the spot. This was about a month ago. Since then, more and more women of similar appearances – namely, blonde hair – have been kidnapped, never to be seen again." The man explained. "I can only imagine how my poor wife feels. She and young Anna were very close. Her memory is bad but the fact that she is always talking about Anna means that the pain is still there. My wife was one of the many who witnessed one of those damned mercenaries slit Anna across the throat. Maybe its better that her memory is gone, or else she'd be reliving that moment every second of her life."

"I'm...sorry to hear that." Al said slowly. "I promise, we'll make this right again."

"Please do." The man replied, something of a smile on the corners of his mouth. "You've given this old sack of bones reason to hope again. Thank you."

Ed nodded, then exited out of the general store, where he walked out onto the street and continued on in silence. "Well?" Al asked as they walked. "Do you think the mercenaries have her?"

Ed grimaced. Winry was becoming difficult to think about, knowing that her situation was looking bleak. But he wasn't going to give up hope, not yet. "That has to be it." Ed replied. "They are after pretty, blonde girls and that's Winry all right. They must have seen us enter town yesterday then snatched her from her room last night."

"Yes, I agree." Al nodded. "And when we get her back, I'm telling Winry you think she's pretty."

"You bastard." Ed said heatedly, blushing ever-so-slightly. "Come on, let's go then."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

The mid-afternoon sun beamed down on Ed and Al as they trekked across town and into the forest surrounding the village. The heat combined with the humidity of the woods made travel uncomfortable, but that thought hadn't even crossed their minds as they remained resolute on pursuing their missing friend. They didn't know exactly what they were looking for, but the general store manager made it seem as though the mercenary camp wasn't too far outside of town, and it was their hope that a brute force search would be enough. And that was good because time was of the essence. Winry had been captured at least a few hours ago, and that was more than enough time for the unthinkable to happen. And every wasted second made that unbearable scenario even more likely.

The search, however, turned out to be harder than they had optimistically imagined. The forest was thick with shrubs and vegetation, making travel slightly more difficult. Surrounded by green foliage, there weren't many indisputably-unique waypoints in the woods, which made navigation damn near impossible. Though Ed tried to walk in a calculated manner, he couldn't shake the feeling that they were walking around in circles and getting nowhere.

What was even more strange than their fruitless efforts to locate the camp thus far was the lack of retaliation from the mercenaries themselves. Ed had trekked into these woods under the impression that they would be ambushed, for the man at the general store said that the mercenaries killed anyone who tried to flee town. But, even so, Ed and Al had yet to be attacked on their journey. Ed remained on his guard for the inevitable attack, often jumping in caution at the most mundane of sounds such as a bird chipping or a small animal rustling nearby leaves, but that attack never came. Surely the mercenaries have realized by now that he and Al had traveled well beyond the city limits, right? They were obviously very competent if they've been able to paralyze an entire town in complete fear for so long. So where was the ambush?

The more Ed thought about this entire situation, the less it made sense. But he still pursued on, housing a grim look of determination on his face. He hadn't said a word to Al since they left town, and out of either respect or fear, Al hadn't said anything either. But that was for the better. Ed grew more and more focused as time passed, so much so that he probably couldn't hold a coherent conversation even if he tried. Everything about his entire being was wrapped around trying to get Winry back, nothing else could keep even a sliver of his attention. Perhaps Al had noticed this himself and chose not to bother his brother. Or maybe Al felt the same way. Whatever the case for Al's silence, Ed knew he had to stay confident, now more than ever. For Al's sake and for Winry's sake. But if he was being honest with himself, his displayed determination was simply a guise of his rapidly-increasing concern.

After about an hour of careful search, Ed found a large clearing void of trees and plants. They were still in the woods, but no trees grew here, leaving a large, unshaded area which would be perfect for housing dozens of mercenaries. And looking around, Ed was relieved to see that this place was obviously the mercenaries' camp. Or what was left of it, at least.

"What happened here?" Al asked quietly to himself as he stared in shock out over the field in front of them.

It was the camp all right. There were dozens of tents set up in the middle of the clearing, a clear sign that a bunch of people called this place home at some point. But there wasn't a single mercenary in sight now. It simply looked abandoned. All life was gone, and in it's place was nothing but an ominous feeling of uncertainty and dozens of unanswerable questions.

Ed stepped forward and carefully looked around the camp. There were many tents scattered around and most of them were upright but none of them were in good condition – most were damp from rain or had holes in them. There were remnants of a few campfires scattered around, but the wood in them was either burnt or waterlogged. They obviously hadn't been on fire in quite some time. There was a single, larger tent set up in the middle of the camp which seemed to be used as a command station, but there were no files or reports inside, just a single, bare table which gave no indication of what had happened to the camp. A single weapon shed was next to the command station, and all of its weapons were corroded or just in bad condition. The dirt pathways that connected the encampment together were bare, signifying that nobody had walked those paths in quite some time. And, looking very carefully, there were several small, dark red stains on some of the nearby tents and such, which could only be blood.

"Impossible..." Ed muttered, in disbelief.

"This place has been abandoned, Ed." Al said quietly. "A while ago, too, by the looks of it."

"This doesn't make any sense." Ed said, hardly louder than a whisper, gazing across the scene and hoping that there was something he had missed on the first examination. This had to be the mercenaries' camp, that much was certain. The weapons and the command tent proved that much. But where were the mercenaries?

"Do you think that general store manager lied to us?" Al asked.

"Why would he lie?" Ed said with a frown. "No, he told us the truth. Or, at least, what he thought was the truth."

Ed bent down and picked up a charred fire log that was resting in a extinguished campfire. "This place was abandoned over two or three weeks ago, maybe even longer than that." Ed said, tossing the log back into the pile. "There's no way Winry was ever here."

"But that's a good thing, right?" Al said. "Maybe somebody drove them off and the town just doesn't realize it yet."

"Maybe." Ed said with a nod. "But that doesn't explain why Winry was kidnapped, nor does it tell us where she is now."

"Yeah, you're right." Al nodded. "Maybe they just relocated their camp somewhere else. Or it could just be coincidence."

"I'm not so sure." Ed replied, his mind full of thought.

"What are you thinking, brother?" Al asked.

"Remember what that man said, Al?" Ed asked, a sudden thought coming to him. "About the citizens of that town having to pay gold to the mercenaries under threat of death? It sounded as if that is still going on."

Al's suit of armor tensed up as he realized what Ed was implying. "Yeah, it's a little strange for a band of mercenaries that has disbanded to continue collecting their tributes." Al agreed.

"Exactly." Ed nodded. "So who's collecting these payments now?"

"We could hide during an exchange and follow the collector back to his base?" Al suggested.

"Yeah, I was thinking the same thing." Ed replied.

Ed didn't waste any more time as he broke into a run out of the camp with the intention of making it back to town before dark. They had spent a lot of time in the forest with not much to show for it so far, but there was something very suspicious going on here, and they were getting close to the truth.

Ed wasn't sure whether Al noticed (and if he hadn't, Ed had no intention of telling him), but there were clearly signs of a fight back in the mercenary camp. Dried-out splotches of blood were scattered throughout the camp, but it was unclear how those stains got there. Could it be fighting amongst themselves which caused the mercenaries to disband? Or did some outside influence drive them off? It would have been easier to answer that question had there been any remains of the fight in the camp, but there wasn't a single body to be found, dead or alive. That fact that there were no bodies was actually quite worrisome to Ed, but it wasn't all that strange. Any honorable fighter would allow his enemies a chance to bury their dead. Or, maybe he was just getting ahead of himself. The possibility remained that the mercenaries were still around and they were just all out traveling somewhere or had relocated, as unlikely of a coincidence as that may be. Either way, it seemed the best way to answer this question would be to follow the collector to his base.

The Elric brothers arrived back in town after a twenty-minute dash back through the outskirts of the forest. They raced through the streets back to the general store that had been to just a few hours ago, where they quickly opened the door and slipped inside.

"Oh, hello, you two." The same man as before said when they entered the store. "Did you have any luck?"

Ed ignored the question. "Sir, you say you have to pay these mercenaries in gold every day." Ed said, his voice wavering due to being exhausted. "How do these exchanges take place?"

If the man was startled by the unusual question, he didn't show it. "Well, there's a small mining cart we fill up with the specified amount, and we wheel it out to the south entrance to town at night." He replied. "Somebody from the mercenaries comes and takes its contents, bringing back the empty cart in the morning. Why, are you boys onto something?"

Again, the man's question is ignored. "Ed, we may still have some time to catch it tonight!" Al said excitedly. Outside, the sun was beginning to set under the horizon. It would be close, but perhaps there was still time to make it tonight.

"Thank you, sir." Ed said quickly, bowing ever-so-slightly. And, as quickly as he arrived, Ed was rushing out the front door once again without a backwards glance. He didn't even stop to hear the old man's reply.

The two of them ran across town again and arrived at the south gate to town just in time to see a citizen pushing out a mining cart and leaving it in the middle of the road. He must have been very confident that it wouldn't be stolen, for he immediately turned his back and left the cart there unattended. This town must have seen so much hardship that no one would dare messing with the mercenaries' offering now.

"Let's hide." Al said quietly.

"Right." Ed said with a nod. Together, they crept along and found a nice, shadowy spot between two houses that gave them a perfect view of the cart, which was lit up by a nearby street lamp.

They waited for about an hour in silence, to no avail. Nobody had come to claim the offering yet, and there hadn't been any activity at all. It had become darker and it was hard to see farther than a couple feet ahead of him, but Ed continued to wait. He focused his attention on the cart because it was the only thing he could see clearly – the street lamp acted as a spotlight, lighting up the cart and drowning the surroundings in darkness. But as time went on, Ed's confidence began waning. Perhaps whoever was behind this had caught onto them and took precautions, for there didn't seem to be anything happening.

"Ed?" Al asked, stirring Ed from his thoughts.

"What is it, Al?" Ed whispered back, not wanting to give away their position with his voice if there was somebody nearby. Clearly, this extended wait didn't only put Ed on edge, but Al as well. Al's voice was shaky, and was filled with worry.

"I hope Winry's okay." Al said quietly.

"She'll be fine." Ed said calmly, trying to feign confidence for both his brother and himself. "We're getting close to solving this, don't lose hope now."

"But what if we're too late?" Al asked.

That was a question that Ed didn't want to think about. "Focus, Al." Ed replied. "We're going to get her back. You'll see."

Al wasn't convinced but he said nothing more. Ed honestly wasn't convinced either but his entire being was focused on finding whoever was responsible and exacting swift justice upon them - mostly because thinking about Winry herself was just too painful. It was easier to imagine a situation in which she was alright rather than accept the possibility that he may never see her again.

After what could have been a few more minutes or a few more hours, the silhouette of a man had finally showed up at the cart. Upon seeing this figure, Ed's figure lit up with a new sense of resolve, and he carefully watched the man and took care to remain extremely still. Even Al, whose metal body was prone to making a lot of noise at even the slightest of motions, somehow managed to stay completely silent. The man stopped in front of the cart to check its contents, and when he was satisfied, he started dragging the cart with him out of the village and down the road.

"After him, hurry!" Ed whispered hectically, but that was unnecessary as Al was ready to pounce as well. The two of them bounded after their target, taking care to stay out of the light of the street lamp as they passed out of the town. The man was traveling down a fork in the road which headed into the depths of the forest. They kept a good distance to avoid being spotted by the man but as soon as he entered the woods, he was consumed by the darkness. They were too far away, they couldn't see him anymore.

"Let's go." Ed said angrily, and starting walking determinedly towards the woods.

"But, brother, are you sure..." Al started to say, but Ed cut him off.

"Come on, Al!" Ed implored. "We've come too far to give up now."

"A-alright." Al conceded, and together, they walked blindly into the mouth of the woods. After only a couple steps into the woods, the darkness had consumed them as well, and they had to walk very slowly to avoid tripping on anything that may be lying around their feet. "I can't see a thing! Brother, let's turn back, we can come back in the morning-"

"No!" Ed said forcefully, his emotions momentarily getting the best of him. He immediately recognized the error in his judgement for he toned his voice down to a whisper before adding, "Look there."

Ed pointed his hand out towards something in the distance but in the darkness, Al couldn't even see where his brother's hand was, much less follow it to whatever he was pointing at. However, he didn't need to know where Ed was pointing to realize what it was that Ed had discovered. "A light..." Al said carefully, spotting a tiny speck of light coming from something far in front of them. It was hard to tell exactly how far away it was but it was at least a couple hundred meters. It appeared to be some kind of lamp, fixated to something that could not be seen due to their far proximity from the light.

"That has to be where he's heading." Ed said quietly. Without another word, Ed led the way towards the light, and Al offered no more words of hesitation. Ed's stride quickened in his desperation and as a result, he tripped a few times over lumps in the unpaved dirt road. But that didn't stop him. They got closer and closer to the light, until they were close enough to see that it was indeed a lamp, which was attached to the wall of an old, rundown house. The light from the lamp was dim but it was enough for them to see that the house was a small, two-story building and was slowly being consumed by nature. The entire wall on the right side was covered in vines, as was much of the roof.

Ed spotted the mining cart sitting just in front of the front door to the house. "This place looks abandoned, but the man came here, alright. Here's his cart." Ed said quietly. "Its still full with the offering. He must have been in a rush, maybe he noticed us following him. Be on your guard."

"Right." Al nodded.

Ed walked up to the lamp and carefully removed it from its bearing. It was the only source of light in sight, and it didn't seem likely that the inside of the house would be well-lit either. With this light source in hand, Ed turned to the front door and began to open it. The hinges squeaked as he pushed the door wide open, and Ed cringed, fearing that the noise would be enough to give them away. But nothing jumped out to attack them, so Ed slowly took a step into the house.

Once inside, Ed lifted his arm over his head in order to better light up the foyer of the house. Given the state of the outside of the house, the inside was in relatively good condition. Apart from a dense accumulation of dust, there was nothing out of place about the foyer of the house. It was a small room, with a door which led to a kitchen area and a staircase which opened to a bedroom. Some of the decorations scattered around the room looked to be somewhat modern. There wasn't anything strange about the interior of the house, but the man they had been following was nowhere in sight.

Ed and Al carefully searched the rest of the house, but they still couldn't find him. The kitchen was empty and looked as though it hadn't been used in weeks, and the washroom was equally undisturbed. The bedroom, however, did show recent signs of use, as it was quite obvious that someone was making use of the bed. That person wasn't there when Ed and Al checked, though, and the bedroom was just as lifeless as the rest of the house.

Ed was ready to turn around and double-check the rest of the house since it was quite obvious nobody was here, but Al stopped him. "Brother." He said. "Take a look at this."

In Al's metal hands was a picture frame, and Ed curiously took it from him. He held it under his lamp light and saw that it was a picture of a young couple, not too much older than himself. They were happily smiling and holding each other. "Blonde hair..." Ed said quietly, realizing what Al saw in the picture. The girl was young and pretty, and had long, blonde hair. At a glance, she almost looked like Winry.

"Do you think she was one of the victims?" Al asked as Ed carefully put the picture frame back on the nightstand next to the bed.

"Seems likely." Ed replied with a nod.

"She must have lived here." Al said. "And once she was out of the way, the house was repurposed for the mercenaries or whoever is behind this."

"Repurposed into what?" Ed asked with a frown. "It's still looks like just a house to me."

"There must be something we're missing." Al replied. "That man didn't just disappear. Let's keep looking."

Ed nodded, then bounded back down the stairs in the hopes of stumbling upon something he had missed the first time around. But even after checking the entire house a second time, he didn't see anything that looked out of place. But Al had keener nighttime vision than Ed did, and he soon found something that looked suspicious. "Ed, come here." He said quietly.

Ed walked over to where to where his brother stood, which was behind the staircase on the ground floor. Al pointed at the wall underneath the staircase, and when Ed looked at it closely, he could clearly see the rigid remains of unrefined alchemy. The wall was a fake, created by alchemy. The man they were tailing must have done this to cover his escape, meaning he was an alchemist himself. Judging by the state of this fake wall though, he was still just an amateur. Or, perhaps, he was just in a rush.

"This must be it." Ed said quietly. He clapped his hands together and placed them on the wall, creating an opening with his alchemy. Behind the fake wall was a staircase that went down into an unseen basement. Ed looked at Al for a moment, then turned and headed down the newly-discovered staircase. The stairs went down fairly deep and at the end, there was a solid metal door.

"Well, this is it." Ed muttered, then gave the metal door a mighty push.

Before the door had even fully opened, a voice called out from somewhere beyond the door, "I was wondering if you were going to show up."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Ed's entire being tensed up at the sound of another man's voice. Of course, he had been expecting to run into somebody after following a strange person through a forest and into this dead-end basement, but that little preparation wasn't enough to ease his nerves of coming face-to-face with somebody who, presumably, wouldn't hesitate for even a second to kill him. To make matters worse, the shadow of a person in front of him seemed to know exactly who Ed was, at least by face. His voice was clear and collected, as if he knew he would be in this situation and had rehearsed his lines a few times beforehand.

Which left Ed at a large disadvantage. He stood silent, fumbling over words in his mind as he tried to think of something coherent to say. This proved to be too large a task for Ed, and he decided instead to quickly observe his surrounds in an attempt to clear his mind and refocus on the task at hand. On the other side of the thick, metal door, Ed and Al had entered a large, one-room basement that was almost completely bare. The room was very dimly lit by a small candle that was fixed right next to the metal door, so much of the room was covered in darkness, including the man who was standing on the other side of the room. His features were almost completely covered in a black silhouette, leaving everything about him in shadows except for his green, piercing eyes that were directed in Ed and Al's direction.

"I guess it was too much to hope that you would leave me be." The man continued in the absence of an answer from Ed or Al. "I have no intention of fighting you, so I will ask nicely – please leave this place."

With the help of the lamp he was holding, Ed's eyes had finally adjusted enough to the darkness of this underground cellar that he began to note several of the man's features. He appeared to be a few years older that Ed, and of average height. And even in the dim light, his facial feature looked strangely familiar. "Wait, I've seen you before." Ed muttered, more to himself than anyone else. "You were in that photograph up in the bedroom, right?"

"You sound surprised." The man said calmly. "You shouldn't be. This is my house, after all."

Ed silently cursed his stupidity in his thoughts. It would only make sense that the man had returned to his house, not that this deduction really had anything to do with the situation at hand, anyway. "That isn't all, Ed." Al said quietly, drawing Ed from his thoughts. "This man, I think he was the other customer in the tavern last night."

Ed gasped as he quickly put together the dots. Yes, Al was right, this was indeed that same man. Ed hadn't recognized him since he was wearing a trench coat and a large hat yesterday, but he could see it now. He was the man sitting at the counter and drinking when they had checked into the inn the previous night. The bartender had called him by name and Ed racked his mind trying to remember that name – Victor, was it? Yes, that was it.

"You, Victor, what's going on here?" Ed asked quietly. He tried to keep his tone calm and non-confrontational, even though it seemed as if a battle was inevitably what lied ahead. "Do you work for the mercenary group?"

"You're really far behind." The man named Victor said condescendingly. "Let me fill you in. The mercenary group is no more."

"What?" Ed asked, feeling confused. "But...but the town still pays them off. You took that money."

"That's right." Victor said with a smile. "With the mercenaries gone, I stepped in to take their place."

"You..." Ed repeated, his eyes growing wide as he tried to assess the situation.

The town thought the mercenaries were still alive but if they weren't, it would be very easy for a third party to step in and collect a vast sum of money, without the town ever knowing. It seemed unbelievable that the town had grown so terrified that they didn't even realize the mercenaries were no more. But it was possible, as the mercenaries didn't show themselves to the town at all after the initial takeover. The only string that connected the two entities together was the mining cart, and the town wouldn't have noticed any differences if the cart suddenly changed owners. And that, it would appear, was exactly what Victor had done.

After a second of thought, Ed's eyes narrowed in disgust and he roared, "Why? Why would you prolong this town's misery?"

"I'm not doing anything wrong." Victor replied innocently. "If that idiotic town is going to keep lying all that gold around, I'm going to keep collecting it."

"You...you're using their fear against them!" Ed hollered. "They keep paying you because they think the threat still exists!"

Before Victor had a chance to reply, Al spoke up in a quiet but penetrating voice, "Ed, look behind him."

Ed had been so focused on Victor that he had yet to gather his surroundings thoroughly. The cellar was so bare that it looked like it could be a prison room. It was a simple room with gray, stone walls and no decorations apart from a desk and large safe in the corner of the room. But Ed did as he was told, and looked at the opposite side of the room. The unconscious form of a young girl with long, blonde hair was chained against the back wall, her pure-white clothing conflicting brilliantly with the black shackles around her wrists and ankles. Ed's heart stopped for a moment as he gazed upon the girl's unmoving form. Her head was drooping forward in an awkward position and nothing about her gave any indication of life.

"Winry!" Ed shouted desperately, and he instinctively jumped into a sprint towards her. Tears began to well up in his eyes as he prayed in his mind, _Don't be dead, please don't be dead..._

"Don't come any closer." Victor demanded in a cold voice, and Ed stopped in his tracks before he had even taken two steps.

Ed compiled with the demand but he was not happy with it. "What have you done to her?" He roared.

"She's fine but I can't allow you to take her." Victor said quietly. "She's essential to my goals."

"What are you planning?" Ed said with a frown.

"I can't tell you that." Victor replied simply.

"Then you better be prepared to fight!" Ed hollered, lowering his center of gravity and preparing himself to pounce at a second's notice, should the need arise.

"If you insist." Victor said calmly with a shrug. He then pulled out a sword which he had concealed under his robe and held it out in front of him, ready to strike.

Ed grinned, and clapped his hands together, creating a blade out of his automail arm. Instantly, Ed leapt into battle, swinging his blade maniacally at his adversary. Victor deflected all of the strikes with his own sword, and once he got an opening of his own, he landed a solid kick to Ed's gut. Ed stumbled back a few paces from the force of the blow, feeling out of breath.

Victor was a novice at alchemy, if the fake wall to this basement was any indication, but his ability with a blade was not something to be overlooked. He wielded his sword with the skill of a trained warrior, and he was light on his feet. He was very passive, casually blocking or evading his opponent's attacks until he found an opportune time to strike. He was an experienced duelist, and would be no easy adversary.

Al jumped into the fight when Ed was knocked back, using alchemy on the stone floor of the room to fire spikes at Victor. Victor jumped out of the way of all of them and used some alchemy of his own to fire some rocks back at Al, who managed to dodge out of the way just in time.

While Victor was distracted with Al, Ed jumped back into the fray, aiming another slash at Victor. The slash only found metal, as Victor reacted in time to deflect the slash, leaving their blades crossed together in a stalemate. "Al!" Ed shouted as he tried to push Victor back, without any success. "Take Winry and get out of here!"

Al was stunned by the suggestion, and perhaps a little angry. "But..." He began to say.

"Do it, Al!" Ed demanded, the rage growing in his voice. "I'll take care of Victor."

Al hesitated for a moment longer before conceding, saying, "As you wish." He then quickly turned around and rushed over to Winry's unconscious body.

"No you don't!" Victor hollered, shoving Ed off of him and running at Al. "I need her!"

Before Victor could reach Al, Ed jumped at Victor and tackled him to the ground. Ed quickly got to his feet and waited for Victor to do the same. "Fine!" Victor yelled, growing frustrated and glaring at Ed. "I'll deal with you first, but once I'm done, I'm coming back for you, tin-man."

Slowly, Ed walked in a circle around Victor and Victor did the same. They were simply looking at each other as Al broke the cuffs around Winry's wrists and carried her out of the room. It seemed as though Victor cared just as much for her safety as Ed did, for neither of the two dared taking shots at one another while she was still in harm's way.

As soon as Al disappeared up the staircase, Ed jumped back into action. Using alchemy this time, Ed fired a line a spikes that rose up through the ground towards Victor. The spikes didn't hit their intended target, but they still managed to make solid contact with Victor's leg because he was a little late reacting. It didn't draw blood, but Victor was clearly affected by it for he crunched over in pain and held the bruise for a moment.

Ed didn't advance on him, and when Victor looked up, his face was full of anger. What Victor lacked in knowledge of alchemy he made up for in raw strength and power of will. He growled and lunged at Ed, aiming dozens of slashes with his sword at Ed, who managed to deflect them all with his own blade. Growing more desperate, Victor crouched down and spun his right leg around, sweeping Ed off of his feet. With Ed flat on his back, Victor raised his sword high and aimed a downward thrust right for Ed's heart. Ed quickly rolled out of the way and the sword plunged into the stone ground, but not before it partially cut through the outside of Ed's real shoulder, leaving a long gash.

Ed cried out in pain and clutched at his shoulder, which was oozing a lot of blood. The cut wasn't very deep but it spanned nearly the entire length of his shoulder, and it hurt like hell. Victor was smirking at Ed, thinking he had already won. "Now, to deal with the metal one." Victor said confidently.

Ed tried to move his real left arm but it was useless, the pain was just unbearable. His vision was growing slightly blurry due to his wound oozing a lot of blood, but all the while, he kept Victor's arrogant form narrowed in his sights. With no other options, Ed clenched his jaw in pain and rage and charged at Victor with his automail blade extended out in front of him, catching Victor completely off-guard. Victor just barely managed to shrug off the attack by Ed but he stumbled back as a result, and was vulnerable. Ed seized his chance, kicking at Victor's sword arm and forcing his sword to fly out of his hands. And, with Victor still in complete shock, Ed spun around and aimed a backhanded slash with his own blade, slicing a small, thin cut into Victor's thigh.

Victor cried out in pain and fell to his back, his wounded leg unable to hold his weight any longer. Ed was careful to perform a crippling blow to his adversary rather than a fatal wound, and there was no doubt that Victor would survive his injury, but the fight was won nonetheless. Victor could no longer fight in his condition. Ed slowly walked over and kicked Victor's sword away, just to be sure he couldn't reach it, then knelt down in front of his fallen opponent.

"You will not terrorize the people of that town any longer!" Ed commanded, to which Victor simply whined in pain. Ed, seeing no other reply coming, asked, "What were you planning on doing with Winry?"

Ed had a crazy expression on his face as he waited for an answer, feeling an odd combination of anger, vengeance and regret. He held his blade arm inches away from Victor's exposed neck, knowing how easy it would be to end his life with a simple thrust. He didn't act on that urge, but instead shouted, "Answer me!"

To Ed's surprise, Victor let out a sob, and it clearly wasn't a sob of pain. His eyes were misty as he stuttered, "That...that is what I want."

"What are you talking about?" Ed asked with a frown. He relaxed his sword arm and drew it away from Victor, sensing no more danger from his defeated enemy,

Victor didn't answer the question. Instead, he gazed off somewhere beyond Ed's shoulder, his eyes glossed over and fading into and out of focus. The corners of his mouth bent into what appeared to be a small smile, but what he could be happy about, Ed had no idea. A single tear rolled down his cheek and anyone with half a brain could tell that it wasn't a tear of pain. Victor was crying tears of happiness, or perhaps love.

With a start, Victor came back to reality from some deep memory, his eyes instantly locking on Ed. "It appears you succeeded...where I failed." Victor said weakly. His voice was quiet and pitiful; it was a voice one would expect from a elderly man's mouth on his deathbed.

Ed was still at a complete loss as to what Victor was talking about. Was the blood loss causing him to become delirious? "What are you talking about?" Ed asked hopefully, but truthfully, he wasn't expecting a solid answer. Victor appeared to be lost inside his own mind.

Again, Victor's eyes drifted over and began to focus on something from another dimension, for there certainly wasn't anything in this reality where Victor was looking. He then said quietly, in a voice that was just barely audible, "I'm so sorry, Anna."

Ed's eyes lit up at the mention of a familiar name. "Anna?" Ed asked quietly. That was the same name as the girl that the general store clerk had mentioned. "You knew Anna?"

"Yes." Victor sputtered, his words becoming more and more coherent with each passing second. "She was mine and I...was hers. But she was taken from me."

Suddenly, the pieces were starting to come together in Ed's mind. Victor and Anna were a couple when she was brutally murdered by the group of mercenaries that used to exist near town. That photo in the bedroom was the two of them together, and they must have lived in this house. But there were still some things were unclear. "Tell me everything that happened since she was killed." Ed demanded, intending to make use of Victor's current literacy, in case he fell back into some delirious state again. "Now."

"She was killed by a group of mercenary thugs." Victor began. "I was broken. After her death...revenge blinded me. I sought out those responsible and I killed them myself."

"You killed the entire band of mercenaries?" Ed asked, astonished. Despite his better judgement, he couldn't help but feel somewhat impressed.

"I thought their deaths would bring me peace, but they only brought more grief." Victor said lightly. The wound that Ed had inflicted on his leg certainly was not fatal, but the loss of blood was beginning to affect Victor, causing his speech to slur. "I knew I could not live without her."

"But what of the other girls who disappeared?" Ed asked. "The town thinks they were also killed by mercenaries, but from what you have said, that can't be true. They were all captured after you killed the mercenaries."

"I..." Victor looked away from Ed in shame. "I took them, as I did your Winry."

"What for?" Ed asked, his temper getting the best of him. He grabbed Victor's robes and roughed him up a bit, saying, "Why would you do that?"

Victor hesitated for a moment before answering, "They were to be...my replacements."

"Replacements?" Ed echoed, a look of deep disgust on his face. "You took them so you could pretend they were Anna?"

"Don't judge me, kid." Victor muttered quietly. "I thought I could teach myself alchemy and use these girls as tributes to bring her back."

"Get over yourself." Ed growled. "She's gone, and she's not coming back. No amount of alchemy is capable of reviving her. Tell me, do you really think Anna would be happy that you're imprisoning all these innocent girls?"

Victor's jaw clenched together. "Don't talk about her like you knew her, you little..."

"Don't call me little!" Ed screamed without even thinking.

The outburst, though completely irrelevant, somehow managed to change Victor's attitude. With a small chuckle, he said lightly, "You know, you kinda sound like her. She was self-conscious of her height, too."

"Can we forget about my height and refocus here?" Ed muttered angrily. "The other girls you captured, what happened to them?"

"Each one of them rejected me." Victor explained calmly. "And if I released them, I couldn't trust them to not rat me out. So I killed them."

Ed's eyes grew wide with shock, then narrowed in anger. "This ends now!" He barked, raising his blade back to Victor's neck. After all he has done – wiping out a entire band of mercenaries, capturing and killing young girls, putting Winry in danger – this man couldn't be allowed to live. The world would surely be a better place without someone like him around. With this justification in mind, Ed gritted his teeth and prepared to make one, final thrust. He could feel the sweat trickle down his brow as his blade inched ever closer to the man's neck. A single thrust was all that it would take. So why was it so hard?

Despite his resolve, Ed couldn't bring himself to do it. During Ed's moment of hesitation, Victor said quietly, "I do not object. Send me back to my beloved."

With that, Victor closed his eyes, waiting for Ed to make the killing blow. But seeing Victor welcome death so freely made the task even harder for Ed, and after a moment, he realized he couldn't do it. "Damn it!" Ed screamed at the top of his lungs, forcing Victor to open up his eyes again. Ed quickly jumped to his feet and used alchemy to return his automail arm back to normal. "I'm going back to the village and telling them what happened here. They won't be paying you from now on so don't bother going back anymore to collect. As for your crimes, it's up to them whether they forgive you or not."

"How can they forgive me if I can't forgive myself?" Victor said with a cough. He struggled to get to his feet and stumbled across the room to where his sword still laid on the ground. Ed held his ground and let Victor grab his sword, feeling slightly confused. Victor's injuries weren't life-threatening but he was clearly in no state to fight. Even with the retrieval of his sword, Victor couldn't hope to have a chance against Ed.

Victor stared at his sword oddly and started waving it around in his arms, as if lost in the moment of some joyful memory. He smiled stupidly – for what, Ed had no idea – then looked back at his opponent. "I can only see one solution to make things right again."

At that moment, Ed realized what Victor planned to do. "No!" Ed screamed, breaking into a sprint toward Victor, but it was too late. Victor grabbed his sword in both of his hands and directed it at himself. He hollered in pain as he thrust the sword deep into his own gut, causing his blood to spill into a pool at his feet. Victor dropped to his knees with a groan, the sword still grotesquely stuck in his body. "I envy you, young one." Victor sputtered, spitting up blood with his words. He then fell forward flat onto his stomach, the force of the impact with the ground causing the sword to drive deeper into his body. A second later, the last breath of life passed from his mouth and he rolled over onto his side, dead.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Ed stood in shock over what he had just witnessed – fatal injuries were something that he was becoming accustomed to seeing in his travels but that fact didn't make it any easier to deal with. Victor's lifeless body was still oozing blood into a pool which was steadily getting closer to Ed's feet. The sword had completely pierced through Victor's body, leaving the tip of the sword sticking out of his back and stained a deep red. His face was was eerily frozen in an expression of deep anguish, and it would forever remain that way.

Ed was getting sick to his stomach after what he had just seen, so he quickly turned his back on the scene and rushed back up the stairs to the ground floor of the house. His entire being was still flowing with adrenalin, and that likely wouldn't change until Winry's safety was made certain. Victor's passing seemed like an absolute end to this situation he now found himself in, but all would be for naught if Winry hadn't survived to see the end.

Al and Winry were nowhere to be seen in the house but that much was expected, as she needed to get somewhere safe and that meant far away from the house. Al had taken the lamp on the way out but Ed soon realized that he wouldn't need it. The sun was just beginning to peak over the horizon, and there was plenty of light to guide him on the way back to town. Regardless of the situation, the sunrise from the deserted shack in the middle of the woods was quite a sight. The sky was filled with a beautiful mixture of colors ranging from light yellow to dark red, and the light reflected brilliantly on the small droplets of condensation resting on the leaves of the many trees in the area.

There were several townsfolk up and about when Ed got back to town in the early morning. Their eyes were full of fear when they saw his approach, perhaps mistaking him as one of the mercenaries that they thought still existed. Now knowing the reason for their depression, Ed could only feel pity for the people of this town. After all that they had gone through with the mercenary band and, more recently, Victor, they deserved a better life. And, given some time, maybe they will come to be happy again now that the source of their oppression had been eliminated.

Ed crossed town and returned to the inn, where he could only hope that Al and Winry were waiting for him. He was not wrong in this regard, and when he stepped into the tavern area of the inn, Ed saw Al sitting at the bar and talking to the bartender they had talked to earlier. There was nobody else in the entire room apart from the two of them, and they seemed to be chatting quietly before Ed arrived. But perhaps the most noticeable characteristic of the scene was an omission – Winry was nowhere to be seen.

"Brother!" Al said immediately when Ed entered the building.

Ed crossed the room and sat down next Al, only just now realizing how tired he was. It had been over a full day since he had gotten any sleep, and he was exhausted. "Sir, can I get some water?" Ed asked the bartender, licking his lips to try to satiate his dehydrated being.

Ed pulled out his money to pay for the drink, but the bartender quickly waved it off. "This one's on the house." He said as he set the large mug down on the bar in front of Ed.

"Thanks." Ed said before swallowing a few large gulps of the water. After chugging half of the mug, Ed gasped for air and placed the mug back on the table. "How's Winry?" Ed asked, maintaining a emotionless tone.

"She'll be fine." Al replied. He seemed to notice that Ed was more worried than his voice let on. "She's upstairs, still sleeping."

"Any injuries?" Ed asked quietly, fearing for the worst.

"Apart from a few cuts around her wrists from the shackles, no." Al replied.

Ed breathed a sigh of relief. Ensuring her safety was all he had been focused on for the past day, and now that she was back in his hands, a great burden had been lifted from his chest. "Well, that's good." Ed said lightly, taking another short sip from his mug.

"What happened, Ed?" Al asked quietly.

"You look like you've been through hell, kid." The bartender added gruffly.

Ed cautiously eyed the bartender, unsure of whether he should be hearing this. But knowing Al, he had probably already told the bartender everything he knew, so Ed decided to throw caution into the wind. "The cause of the oppression of this town is no more." He announced.

"Brother, you didn't..." Al began to ask.

"No." Ed replied grumpily, knowing what Al was about to ask. "The bastard killed himself."

"That...that's awful." Al said quietly.

"I still can't believe it." The bartender said, shaking his head slightly. "I thought I knew Victor.

"Ed, I was just telling him about Victor before you got here." Al explained. "Apparently, he was a frequent customer at this bar."

Ed nodded and looked at the hardened bartender. "What can you tell me about him?"

"Not much." The bartender said gruffly. "I didn't even know his name until about a month ago. He was always off with that girl, Anna I think her name was. The mercenaries were running amok, killing anyone who fled town, but the two of them somehow found a way to stay happy. I guess I didn't really think much on it at the time, but it's kind of inspiring now that I look back on it. But that all changed when the girl was murdered. He started coming to this bar every night, and I never saw him smile once. I knew he was down on himself but I guess I never realized just how much."

"Well, tragedy affects even the best of us." Ed said quietly, then added sarcastically, "Thanks for the heads-up, by the way. You obviously knew about the mercenaries the whole time, that piece of information would have been nice from the start."

"Oh. Right. Sorry." The bartender said shyly. "With the mercenaries around, I learned to keep my mouth shut. Anyone who didn't mysteriously vanished."

"Well, you don't need to worry about that anymore." Ed said with a sigh. "The mercenaries are long gone now."

"Ed, I have to ask." Al began to say. "What did happen to the mercenaries?"

"Victor killed them." Ed replied with a sigh. "Out of revenge for his fallen Anna."

"I figured." Al said. "And the other kidnapped girls?"

"His doing as well." Ed responded dryly. "Just like Winry."

Al nodded but said nothing more. For a few minutes, they sat together in silence. Ed sporadically took some sips of his water, reflecting on all of the events that had happened within the past day.

"Brother, you're shoulder is bleeding!" Al said in shock.

Ed turned to look at his left shoulder to see that his clothes there had become damp with blood. With all that was going on, he had completely forgotten about his wound. He rolled up his arm sleeve to see the wound exposed, and it was actually quite gruesome. It wasn't deep but it was a long, thin slice that extended across his entire shoulder. The skin around the wound was red and puffy, a clear sign of infection. Even now, it was still oozing fresh blood. Before it could heal, it would probably have to be sealed up, either alchemically or otherwise.

"You should get that looked at, kid." The bartender said.

"He's right, Ed." Al said quietly. "It looks pretty bad."

"Not right now." Ed said with a yawn. "I need...a nap."

Al looked ready to protest but Ed got to his feet before he could. Ed stumbled down the hall, drowsiness and blood loss starting to get the better of him. He could barely see straight as he forced himself up the stairs to his room. Before he went to his own room, he stopped by Winry's and checked inside. Winry was still sleeping away, her deep, relaxing breaths filling the room. Ed smiled and closed the door, turning back to his room. After he seeing her safe for himself, he could finally rest easy.

* * *

"He's waking up! Al, come quickly!"

The first thing Ed say when he opened his drowsy eyes from his well-deserved rest was the blurry form of Winry standing over him from the side of his bed. She was beaming down at him, flashing a smile that showed an overwhelming sense of joy.

"Winry, how..." Ed began to say, but only seconds after those few words left his mouth, Winry lunged at him and embraced him in a tight hug on his bed.

"I'm so glad you're alright." Winry said quietly. She was lying down on top of his chest, her arms wrapped around his neck, and she showed no signs of moving anytime soon. The force of her impact on his frail, battle-worn body wasn't pleasant, but Ed ignored that for his sense of relief was stronger. He carefully wrapped his arms around her and held her tenderly.

They embraced each other in silence, and it took a few moments for Ed to notice that Al had showed up at the door to his room. When he caught Ed looking at him, Al gave his brother a knowing grin, then turned and exited out of the room to give Ed and Winry some privacy. Ed grimaced in his embarrassment – Al wouldn't let this one down easily.

For what could have been as long as half an hour, the two of them were content to savor each others company without saying a word. Ed could feel the pillow around his neck getting moist, and he could only guess that she was crying lightly, and he held her tighter.

It wasn't until Winry finally pulled away and sat on the side of the bed that she said, "How's your arm?"

"It's feeling pretty stiff." Ed said bitterly as he began to massage it gently, only to realize that it had already been bandaged up.

In response to Ed's questioning glance, Winry explained, "Al called in a doctor to see you after you fell asleep. It should be fine but he cautioned you to try to limit yourself at least for a few days."

"I see." Ed said quietly. Looking outside the window, he noticed that it was late morning but that discovery was deceiving – considering the fact that a doctor had been in to see him, he must have been asleep for a full twenty-four hours. To rid his mind of this depressing thought, he changed the subject by asking, "Forget about it, how are you feeling?"

"I..." Winry said slowly, as if surprised by the question. "I didn't even know what was going on at first. I was so scared. But I'm good now, thanks to you and Al."

"He didn't hurt you, did he?" Ed asked angrily.

"N-no, I'm fine." Winry stammered. "That man must have taken me while I was sleeping, and the only thing I remember after waking up was being chained against the wall of that prison. And the man who captured me...he was just staring at me. He didn't even say a word, and I just passed out a few minutes after."

Ed nodded. "I'm sorry." He said solemnly. "I never should have let this happen."

"It's not your fault, Ed." Winry replied. "You didn't expect anything like this to happen, nobody could have."

"Still." Ed said stubbornly.

"Don't be so hard on yourself." Ed said cheerfully. "I'm fine, and from what Al said, this town has gained a lot from what you two have done."

"Yeah." Ed said indecisively.

In the silence that followed, Winry, thankfully, decided to change the subject by asking, "What happened to that man? The one who took me?"

"Dead." Ed said simply, then quickly added, "Don't look at me like that, it wasn't me! I tried to stop him but he killed himself."

Winry's face lit up with shock for a moment but then returned to normal. "I guess that shouldn't come as much of a surprise." She said quietly. "There was something tragic about him."

"You feel bad for him?" Ed asked astonishedly.

"I'm not saying that!" Winry quickly retorted. "But he seemed different somehow. Desperate, I guess."

"Yeah, you could say that." Ed mumbled.

"Did you figure out why he...you know...?" Winry asked quietly.

Ed wanted to lie to her, tell her something that would be easier to accept, but he couldn't. Her innocent, expecting face was impossible to lie to, and she deserved to know. "You look like someone he once knew who died some time ago." Ed explained. "He wanted to mold you into her."

"That..." Winry stuttered. "That doesn't even make sense."

"He was blind." Ed said with a shrug. "He couldn't see past the memory of that girl, Anna."

"That's awful." Winry said.

Ed didn't reply, thinking back on how similar his situation with his mom was to Victor's. He wanted to hate Victor with every fiber in his body for all that he had done, but he had done no better when he was in the same place.

As if she could read his mind, she asked, "Is that how you felt when..."

"Yeah." Ed said simply, adding nothing else.

"I had almost forgot." Winry said sorrowfully, diverting her gaze from his in shame. "Seeing you today, it's hard to believe you went through something as traumatic as losing your mother so suddenly. You always act so confident, like nothing can affect you."

Ed stared at her silently, unsure of what to say. She continued, "I mean, just look at what you've done! You put your life in danger just to save someone else. And the people of this town owe you a great dept for the terror you've freed them from. And you did all this without a second thought."

Ed blushed lightly, not accustomed to hearing her praise him so highly. "Yeah...Thanks, Winry." Ed said quietly. He racked his brains for the right words to explain his true motivations, but everything he thought of just sounded bad. In the end, he settled on saying, "But I didn't do it for them." Those few words proved to be difficult to say, as it turned out, and Ed had to look away to hide his embarrassment.

Winry stared at him for a moment, as if trying to read him. She then smiled lightly and said, "I know."

Before Ed even realized what was happening, Winry leaned over from the side of the bed and planted a kiss onto his cheek. He laid still in shock for a few moments as he watched her pull back and smile lightly down at him. "Get some rest." She said happily, still blushing.

With that, Winry stood up and walked out of the room, leaving Ed feeling confused and exhausted, but happy all the same.

* * *

Ed ended up resting for the rest of that day as well as the night as his body regained the energy he had used up in battle. Once his adrenalin and determination in battle wore off, the small injuries that he was able to ignore began to overwhelm him. Apart from his shoulder, he had no serious injuries, but his entire body was sore and greatly appreciated the time he spent resting in bed.

And now, a full three and a half days after they had first entered this town, Ed was finally fit to travel again. He, Al and Winry packed up what little they had and slung it on their backs. Ed returned the keys to the scruffy bartender along with a healthy tip (that took some persuading in order for the bartender to begrudgingly accept) and his heartfelt thanks.

But before they could leave town, there was still a few loose ends that Ed wanted to patch up in respect for the people of this meager town, the last of which entailed meeting up with the proprietor of the general store in order to give his thanks and pass on a last request. As she had nothing to do with this, Ed had intended to allow Winry to wait outside while he and Al took care of it. But, as it would turn out, both the general store owner and his wife were sitting out on the porch of the store, rocking on their chairs and calmly watching their approach.

"So, you've returned." The elderly man said calmly, a gentle smile on his lips. He, along with his wife, seemed at peace with their surroundings, and had likely heard the rumor that the town had been freed. The wife suffered from moderate memory lose and always displayed a happy, innocent expression as a result, so this much was expected from her, but seeing the worried features that had once plagued the man's face washed away was a pleasant sight indeed. The man then continued, "You're looking beat up."

With his shoulder wrapped in bandages and his facial features saggy with fatigue, Ed couldn't blame the man for saying so. "Yeah, I suppose so." Ed said quietly. He had an idea of what he wanted to say when he returned to meet this elderly man, but now that he was here, the words were hard to find.

"How are you feeling?" The man asked sincerely. "I heard from the doctor that you would be fine but I hope you didn't suffer too much for this town's behalf."

"N-no, I'm fine. It was nothing, really." Ed stammered, surprised at the man's concern for Ed's well-being.

"I see." The man said with a nod. "That's good."

"Well, uh..." Ed said embarrassedly, fumbling for the words. "You don't have to worry about the mercenaries anymore. You are free again."

"Yes, I had heard the rumors, but it is nice to hear confirmation from the source itself." The man replied with a smile. "Let me be the first to thank you, young man. Unfortunately, my gratitude is all I can offer you but if you check in with the town center, I'm sure they can find some kind of reward for you."

"Oh, no, that won't be necessary." Ed replied with a frantic shake of his hands. "I didn't do any of this for a reward."

"The reward is in the action itself, right?" The man said with a chuckle, his cheery eyes bouncing back and forth between Ed and Winry, who was quietly standing a step or two behind Ed. "So, this is your friend, then?"

The man had focused his gaze onto Winry with a strange smile on his lips that can only best be described as teasing. Ed quickly blushed and tried to find something to say in reply, but, for better or worse, he wouldn't need to. The elderly woman had remained strangely quiet up until this point, calmly taking in the conversation but not saying anything herself as if she didn't understand what was being said. But, at her husband's direction, she also focused on Winry, and her eyes lit up with a flash of understanding.

"Anna, is that you?" The woman said she rose up of her rocking chain and onto her feet, mistaking Winry for Anna, the fallen lover. "Come here, let me get a good look at you."

Ed felt a pang of pity – either the woman had bad eyesight or her poor memory caused her to forget the finer facial details of the real Anna that she used to know from some time ago, and it was more likely the latter. He turned around to look at Winry, and found that her face was riddled with confusion, and understandably so. She had no idea who Anna was, and didn't know what to say in this situation. Ed gave her a look that told her to just go with it, and she seemed to understand somehow.

Slowly, Winry took a couple of steps forward and gave a slight bow before the elderly woman. "It's a shame, I almost forgot that pretty face of yours." The woman said with a soft smile. "Do yourself a favor and don't get old."

Winry laughed quietly in reply – she was performing admirably given the strange situation that she found herself in. "So, is this him? Your boyfriend?" The woman said, shifting her gaze over to Ed.

Ed's face instantly went scarlet and Winry seemed equally embarrassed, even though Ed couldn't see her face. "Hmm...I thought I remembered him being a bit taller..."

Ed had a retort ready at the tip of his tongue but he held it in out of respect for the woman. "You take care of her, alright?" She said to Ed, then turned back to Winry and said, "Well, I'll leave it at that, then. I'm sure you don't want an old woman taking up all of your time. Take care, Anna."

With that, the woman turned around and headed back into their general store, leaving Ed feeling embarrassed but somehow pleased at the same time. The woman would probably choose to regain her memory if she had the chance to, but if nothing else, she seemed happy now. There are many who spend their entire lives looking for that and never find it.

Aided in part by the elderly woman's innocence, Ed finally found the courage to say what he came here to say. His embarrassed persona of a few minutes ago a distant memory now, Ed confidently strode forward a few paces and faced the the man who was still seated on his rocker. "Sir, we are about to leave this town, but before we do, there is something I would like to say."

"Yes, what is it?" The man said pleasantly.

"I don't think it will amount to everything that was taken from your town, but I found a considerable amount of gold stored in the basement of the house just outside of town." Ed began to explain. "I'm trusting you to return it to the people."

A few hours earlier, Ed went back to the house with the intention of burying Victor's body, and that's when he stumbled upon the supply cache. "That is very welcome news." The man said with a smile. "I'm not sure I'm the most qualified for that job, but I'll do what I can."

"Thank you." Ed said with a gulp. That was the easy part, the next part of what he wanted to say was much more difficult for Ed to say. Ed grimaced, then said, "And also, I want to apologize."

"Apologize?" The man said quizzically. "What for?"

"It's a state alchemist's job to protect the people." Ed stately flatly. "We should never have allowed such a horrible event to happen here for such a long time. For that, I'm sorry."

Ed was unsure how the man would react to hearing this but even so, he was very surprised when the man unexpectedly laughed. "You needn't worry about that." He said with a grin. "You've done more than enough."

"But-" Ed began to say.

"Enough." The man said seriously. In a flash, his previously-lighthearted expression contorted into a steady, serious one. He leaned forward in his chair, rested his forearms on his knees and glared at Ed as he continued. "Don't think that way."

Ed could only stand in silence as the man continued, "There's nothing obligating you to help us, but you do. It would be unfair to expect anything more from you. I can't speak for this town but if you were to ask, I'm sure everyone else would agree with me. You are a hero."

Ed nodded, quietly staring at his feet for a moment before replying, "You know, you're pretty smart, old man. Thanks for all your help."

The man reverted back to his easygoing nature, grinning and saying happily, "Well, you don't get this old without learning a thing or two." He then got to his feet and continued, "Listen, you don't have to worry about this town anymore. We can take care of things from here. You go take a well-deserved break now – all three of you. You've done enough."

"Yeah, we will." Ed nodded.

"Take care, now." The man said in parting, flashing a final smile before turning his back and following his wife back into the general store.

After the door banged closed, a strange silence enveloped the scene. At long last, his need to stay in this town had come to an end. It was getting late now, perhaps too late to resume their journey back to Central. Judging by the evening sun, they would only be able to get a few hours of travel in before they would have to retire for the night. But even so, Ed was in no mood to stay in this town of horrible memories any longer.

As if he could read his thoughts, Al stepped forward and slapped Ed's back, saying reassuringly, "Shall we get going then, brother?"

Ed turned around to face his brother and Winry. "Yeah, let's get going."

Al took another step towards Ed so that their faces were nearly touching, and Ed could clearly see signs of malicious intent within Al's hollow eyes. In a playfully-innocent voice, Al announced loudly, "I'll take point!" He then happily jumped a few steps forward and broke into a steady march.

Ed quickly realized the point of Al's actions, as they resulted in Ed and Winry walking side-by-side as they followed Al. Al, feigning ignorance to the entire situation, continued to face forward without turning back in his attempt to give the two of them a little privacy.

Ed sighed and walked on in silence, already trying to think of ways to get back at his brother for causing him this embarrassment. But as they continued walking, Ed caught Winry stealing glances over at him. Ed nervously turned and locked eyes with her. She smiled cutely, a faint tinge of red clouding her cheeks. Ed smiled back without saying a word, then turned away to hide his embarrassment. A second later, he felt a gentle hand interlocking fingers with his own.

The three of them were silent as they walked on into the sunset – no words were needed to be said. Ed was content to walk hand-in-hand with the one he would do anything for. Whatever the circumstance and whatever the hardship, he would live on as her guardian angel.

* * *

**A/N - I apologize for the lateness of this update. I had planned on finishing this story months ago. Anyway, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed this story!**


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